Otus and Ephialtes, the gentle twins of Poseidon

The giants Otus and Ephialtes, also known as the "Aloadae", were the sons of Iphimedia and Poseidon, the god of the seas.

It all happened when Iphimedia fell in love with Poseidon, so day by day she went down to the seashore, where she could scoop water from the waves
with her hands and pour it into her lap until she became pregnant.

Otus and Ephialtes were extraordinary giants. Every year they grew about 18 inches broader and six feet higher.
However, they didn't look horrifying at all. Instead, they were beautiful and gentle creatures.

When they were only nine years old, the two brothers began to challenge the gods on several occasions.

The 3 Challenges of Otus and Ephialtes

The first challenge of the brothers was to abduct and imprison Ares, the god of war. They managed to do so for 13 months, until the gods reluctantly sent Hermes, the messenger of the gods to release him.

Their next challenge was to put one mountain upon another, threatening to use these mountains to climb up to heaven.
When Zeus,the king of the gods, found out, he was about to hit both giants with his lightning - but Poseidon,
their loving father, convinced Zeus to show mercy for his children.

The fatal third challenge
The third challenge of the two brothers was to catch Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. When Artemis
saw the twins approaching, she quickly transformed herself into a deer and leapt between them.
Greedily, the two brothers threw javelins to hit the animal, but the javelins went back and killed them both.